Doll head and replaceable hairdo construction



Dec. 28, 1965 J. w. RYAN DOLL HEAD AND REPLACEABLE HAIRDO CONSTRUCTION Filed Aug. 17, 1962 INVENTOR.

tomv PV; RYAN fir ramvs/s United States Patent 3,225,489 DELL HEAD AND REELACEABLE HATRDG CONSTRUCTION John W. Ryan, 688 Nirnes Road, Bel Aire, Caiif. Filed Aug. 17, 1962, Ser. No. 217,564 Claims. (Cl. 46172) The present invention relates to doll construction, and more particularly to a novel doll head construction including removable headpieces which permit ready modification of the hairdo of the doll.

The fashion model doll with which young girls may identify themselves has become a part of life in modern America. Part of the fascination of these dolls appears to be the ability to change their costumes and their accessories, much as if the owner were changing her own dress. This involves an awareness of current fashions and of the proper thing to wear at the proper time. It is only natural when the color of a womans hair may be changed by a trip to the local beauty salon, and when wigs of various colors or styles are sold to be worn with particular costumes, that these concepts should be extended to the fashion doll area.

The concept of a wig or replaceable hairdo for a doll is not new, but the articles found in the prior art have been quite unsatisfactory from several points of view. Often these hairdos are quite unrealistic. Further, they often are not readily removable, or when removable, tend to loosen and fall off while the doll is being handled. These deficiencies appear to stem generally from the unstable nature of the Wigs or headpieces which have been used prior to this time. Such unstable base construction results in ununiform shape and appearance. Further, the unstable base results in a headpiece which is not securely fastened to the doll and which therefore causes the headpiece to loosen or come off easily.

Accordingly, it is a prime object of the present invention, to provide a novel and improved doll head and headpiece construction. More particularly, it is an object of this invention to provide a construction of doll head and removable headpiece which will hold the headpiece firmly upon the head of the doll and yet permit it to be readily removed and replaced by another headpiece.

It is a more 'specific object of this invention to provide a shape-retaining yet flexible wig or headpiece construction which will provide a more satisfactory replaceable hairdo.

It is a further object of this invention to provide improved connector means for releasably maintaining the headpiece or wig for a doll firmly but releasably upon the head of the doll.

It is still another object of the invention to provide a doll head construction designed to appear normal and complete without a headpiece, but adapted to cooperate with the headpiece to firmly but releasably retain the headpiece upon the dolls head.

It is also an object of this invention to provide such a construction wherein the visual design of the head itself does not interfere with the new visual impression created when the headpiece is mounted upon the head.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become obvious from the following descriptions and the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a doll head and headpiece or wig adapted to be releasably secured on the head, the head and headpiece embodying various features of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a side sectional view showing the doll head and headpiece of FIG. 1 with the headpiece mounted on the head;

FIGURE 3 is a side sectional outline view of a modification of the doll head and headpiece.

Briefly, the construction illustrated in FIGURES 1 and 2 comprises a doll head It) and a headpiece or wig 12 adapted to be releasably mounted on the head 10. The illustrated head 10 is formed to present the appearance of a normal and complete doll head including a design 11 which provides the appearance of a hairdo. At the same time, the formation of the illustrated head 10 provides means 14 adapted to interengage with means 16 on the headpiece to firmly yet readily releasably support the headpiece or wig 12 upon the head. The illustrated headpiece 12 includes a shape-retaining flexible and resilient cap or base 18 to which strands of artificial hair 20 are sewn.

As seen in FIG. 2 the headpiece 12, when mounted, covers the hairdo design 11 formed on the head 10. By using a variety of headpieces 12 each with a different hair style or color, the appearance and personality of a doll can be varied as her costumes are varied.

The illustrated cap or base 18 may be constructed from any relatively stable, shape-retaining elastic material such as vinyl plastic. The illustrated cap 18 is generally curved or roughly hemispherical in shape, having means such as a rib or bead 22 formed along its edge or periphery. This serves to restrict or narrow the opening 24 of the cap. The restricted opening and the resilient, yet shape-retaining nature of the cap 18 permit it to snap or pop onto the head 10 of the doll as will be described. This provides a firm and stable, yet removable, fit of the headpiece upon the doll head.

The synthetic or artificial hair 2% may be sewn onto the cap 18 in a conventional manner such as by stitching it in concentric rows, as shown in FIG. 1. The strands of hair 20 are doubled over and the ends extend through the cap 18 from the inside with an intermediate portion of the strands thus being disposed or rooted on the inside of the cap. The illustrated cap 18 is formed so that when the cap is mounted on the head, a clearance or space 25 is provided between the inside of the cap and the head 10 of the doll. This space 25 should be sufficient to receive the rooted portion of the hair 20.

The head 10 of the illustrated doll is provided with the normal facial features and is further provided with the formed or sculptured design 11 which simulates the appearance of hair or a hairdo for the doll. In addition to providing this hairdo design so that the doll will be life-like and attractive when a headpiece is not being used, the construction of the head also provides the means 14 for engaging the cap 18 to releasably retain the headpiece 12 on the head.

The illustrated head 10 is fashioned after the shape and proportion of the natural head in that its circumference, measured in a series of planes B-B which lie perpendicular to a line AA extending from the top center rear of the head to the center of the chin, increases from the rear to the peak of the forehead and then decreases. When the headpiece 12 is mounted on the doll head, the opening 24 of the cap 18 will be disposed in one of this series of planes B-B.

This head shape alone will not provide suitable connecting means for the cap 18. If the cap 18 could be fitted flush to the head it could snap over the peak of the forehead, but such a construction is unsuitable for the present purpose because the cap 18 would extend below the hairline and be undesirably visible, and even more undesirably a flush fit would leave no space for the rooted portion of the artificial hair 20.

To solve this problem, it has been found that the sculptured design 11 of the head may be so devised to provide a shoulder of the ridge 26 extending around the head of the doll and disposed generally in one of the series of planes 3 BB referred to above. The head 22 of the cap 18 will snap over the ridge 26 to firmly yet releasably secure the headpiece .12 on the doll head 10.

In the preferred embodiment of the doll construction, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the head is provided with a circumferentially extending recessed or undercut strip or band 28 lying generally in one of the series of planes designated BB, and set back a small distance from the hairline 30 of the doll head. This recessed band 28 thus provides, rearwardly of it, an annular shoulder 26 which engages with the bead 22 of the cap 18. Thus in this illustrated embodiment, the head 22 comprises connecting means 16 on the headpiece, while the shoulder 26 comprises connecting means 14 on the head.

FIGURE 1 shows the strap or band 28 as an artificial or simulated headband; the band 28 could alternatively be achieved by other means such as by so styling the sculptured hairdo design 11 to provide a concave wave extending around the head in the proper location.

When a band 28 such as shown in FIG. 1 is utilized, the headpiece 12 is provided with forwardly disposed artificial hair 20 such as bangs 32 which will conceal the parting line between the doll head 10 and the edge of the cap 18 and also conceal the forwardmost portion of the sculptured hair design 11.

An alternative or additive construction is shown in FIG. 3 with comparable parts having the same numerals with a prime suflix. The head 10 is formed with a somewhat higher than average hairline 30' and with the forward edge of the sculptured hair design 11' raised to form a shoulder 34' for engaging an edge bead 22 on a suitably proportioned headpiece cap 18. In such a construction, the bangs 32' need only be long enough to cover the forward edge of the cap 18'. If desired, the construction shown in FIG. 3 may be formed with a band 28 providing a shoulder 26'.

This illustrated doll construction provides a simple and relatively inexpensive structure for readily varying the hairdo of a doll. The shape-retaining yet resilient construction of the pictured headpiece and its configuration combines with the specially formed doll head to provide a firmly fixed hairdo for the doll. This hairdo can be readily removed to reveal the underlying sculptured hairdo design or it may be replaced by a different headpiece of differently styled or colored hair. When there is no headpiece on the doll, it nevertheless presents a natural, attractive appearance and reveals no unsightly mechanism for attaching the headpiece.

The particular structures or embodiments shown in the drawings and described herein may be varied or modified without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Various features of the invention are set forth in the following claims.

I claim:

1. A doll head construction for permitting the hair arrangement of a toy doll to be readily changed, said construction comprising the combination of a doll head formed to simulate the appearance of a human head, said doll head including an integral sculptured hair design on said doll head which simulates the appearance of a hairdo for said doll head and including outwardly projecting portions, a headpiece including means simulating hair and a base section being of generally concave curvature, said base section including a resiliently contractile peripheral edge defining an opening for receiving said doll head and being comprised of shape-retaining flexible resilient material, and means disposed at said edge of said headpiece base section for engaging with said projecting portions of said sculptured hair design on said doll head to releasably lock said headpiece in position on said 70 doll head.

2. A construction such as Ca le f0!" n claim t wherein the edge of the sculptured hair design on the doll head is raised to create an elevated. ridge for engagement by said engaging means at said edge.

3. A headpiece-such as called for in claim 1 wherein said engaging means on said edge of said base section comprises inwardly directed bead means at least partially constricting the opening to said base section, whereby said base section is adapted to snap into locked but readily releasable position upon the doll head.

4. A doll head construction for permitting the hair arrangement of a toy doll to be readily changed, said construction comprising in combination: a doll head formed to simulate the appearance of a human head, said doll head including a sculptured hair design on said doll head which simulates the appearance of a hairdo for said doll head, said sculptured hair design providing means simulating a headband spaced rearwardly of the hairline of said doll head; a headpiece including means simulating hair and a base section being of generally concaved curvature, said base section including a peripheral edge defining an opening for said doll head and being comprised of shape-retaining flexible resilient material; and means disposed along said edge of said headpiece base section for engaging with said sculptured hair design on said doll head to releasably lock said headpiece in position on said doll head, said sculptured hair design also providing a relatively raised annular shoulder rearwardly of said headband for engagement by said engaging means on said edge to releasably secure said headpiece upon said doll head.

5. In a doll head construction for affording ready change of the hair arrangement for the doll, the combination comprising: a doll head formed to simulate the appearance of a human head, said doll head including a chin and an upper, rear apex; connector means on said doll head adapted to engage with means on a headpiece including a hair arrangement to releasably secure said headpiece on said doll head, said. connector means on said doll head simulating the appearance of a normal close coifi'ure and being disposed generally in a plane which lies perpendicular to a line extending from said chin to said upper rear apex, said plane lying in proximity to the hairline of said doll head, said connector means being provided by a sculptured hair design on said doll head which simulates the appearance of said close coiffure, said sculptured hair design providing means simulating a headband spaced rearwardly of the hairline of said doll head, said sculptured hair design also providing a relatively raised annular shoulder rearwardly of said headband for engaging the engageable means on said headpiece to releasably secure said headpiece upon said doll head.

References Cited by the Examiner DELBERT B. LOWE, Examiner. 

1. A DOLL HEAD CONSTRUCTION FOR PERMITTING THE HAIR ARRANGEMENT OF A TOY DOLL TO BE READILY CHANGED, SAID CONSTRUCTION COMPRISING THE COMBINATION OF A DOLL HEAD FORMED TO SIMULATE THE APPEARANCE OF A HUMAN HEAD, SAID DOLL HEAD INCLUDING AN INTEGRAL SCULPTURED HAIR DESIGN ON SAID DOLL HEAD WHICH SIMULATES THE APPEARANCE OF A HAIRDO FOR SAID DOLL HEAD AN INCLUDING OUTWARDLY PROJUCTING PORTIONS, A HEADPIECE INCLUDING MEANS SIMULATING HAIR AND A BASE SECTION BEING OF GENERALLY CONCAVE CURVATURE, SAID BASE SECTON INCLUDING A RESILIENTLY CONTRACTILE PERIPHERAL EDGE DEFINING AN OPENING FOR RECEIVING SAID DOLL HEAD AND BEING COMPRISED OF SHAPE-RETAINING FLEXIBLE RESILIENT MATERIAL, AND MEANS DISPOSED AT SAID EDGE OF SAID HEADPIECE BASE SECTION FOR ENGAGING WITH SAID PROJECTING PORTIONS OF SAID SCULPTURED HAIR DESIGN ON SAID DOLL HEAD TO RELEASABLY LOCK HEADPIECE IN POSITION ON SAID DOLL HEAD. 